England!

Greetings from England, the land of the tourist! After spending so long in places where there weren't tourists (Cape Town is a tourist town, but it was winter), I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of

I spent Friday in London with my friend Michelle Healy. The city is very interesting, and I found it quite similar to DC (where I spent last summer), though it's obviously a great deal bigger with hundreds of years more history.

I picked up on the Tube system pretty easily after my experience with the Metro, and was amazed at the number of signs everywhere directing people towards the tourist sites. Michelle and I saw the Tower of London (which includes the Crown Jewels and several museums), Tower Bridge, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, the Tate Britain (art museum), and several nice parks along the Thames. We both enjoyed wandering throughout the city and taking in whatever we discovered!

Then, we had dinner with a friend of Michelle's, Kate, in Covent Garden, a very cool cobblestone area overflowing with small shops, restaurants, and pubs.

All in all, my day in London was fantastic, and I'm really looking forward to going back on Wednesday and Thursday. Then, I'm going to see a play, and hopefully take in some of the other sights.

Saturday, I took a train from St. Pancras, in London, to Nottingham, where I am now. I'm here for research (it's a strong center of evangelical Anglicanism), but I've really enjoyed this city a great deal. The entire city center is cobblestone and pedestrian, with a large Market Square and several other interesting squares. I'm going to explore tomorrow after a couple of meetings in the morning.

In general, my time in England is going to be less focused than my time in Uganda or South Africa (by design). I'm here to get a feel for the diversity of worship in the Church of England, and I don't need to learn any specific Diocese really well. Thus, I'm spending 4 days in Nottingham, 2 more in London, and then 4 in Canterbury. The looser focus and increased travel will also allow me to see a bit more of the country, which I'm looking forward to!

Hope the 4th of July was great in the States!

Will